Department for Transport

Aviation

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the implications for his policies of the ACI EUROPE Airport Industry Connectivity Report 2018, published in June 2018 which reported that the UK’s direct connectivity has declined by 0.8 per cent between 2017 and 2018.

Jesse Norman: No such assessment has been made. The UK is one of the most connected countries in the world both domestically and internationally and this is testament to a thriving aviation industry. The Government believes that air passengers are best served by a commercial airline market which is able to operate in a competitive environment. This allows airlines to determine the routes that they operate, and from which airports, based on their assessment of costs and passenger demand.

Department for Transport: Labour Turnover

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what assessment he has made of the effect of staff turnover in his Department on the effectiveness of project management.

Jesse Norman: The staff turnover rate for the Department for Transport (Department, the Driver Vehicle & Licensing Agency, the Driver & Vehicle Services Agency, the Maritime & Coastguard Agency and the Vehicle Certification Agency) for the period 1 February 2018 to 31 January 2019 is 9.4%. This is a slight increase in comparison to the previous period in which staff turnover was 8.7%, but is significantly lower than the 15% UK average. The Department continually monitors staff turnover. Within the Department there is a well-established structure for regularly reporting and monitoring resource levels for projects and programmes.The effectiveness of project management is supported through the Project Delivery Profession, which focuses on building and maintaining project delivery capability.

Department for Transport: Recruitment

Andy McDonald: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, how much his Department spent on recruitment in (a) 2016, (b) 2017 and (c) 2018.

Jesse Norman: DfT recruitment expenditure per financial year:  (a) Financial year 2016/2017(b) Financial year 2017/2018(c) Financial year 2018/2019 to dateDepartment for Transport recruitment expenditure£2.2 million£1.5 million£1.7 million The data provided covers the central Department for Transport. The recorded expenditure is per financial year and includes costs for standard recruitment only (not contingent labour) and covers service delivery (excluding cost of staff), advertising and fees only.

Roads: Freight

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, what plans his Department has for increasing the number of European Conference of Ministers of Transport permits available to UK hauliers in the event those permits become necessary for British hauliers operating in the EU.

Chris Grayling: The Government has always been clear that European Conference of Ministers of Transport (ECMT) permits to secure continued access to the EU are a small part of the solution. We are confident that hauliers will still be able to operate in the EU without an ECMT permit for the equivalents of most of the journeys they make now.We secured additional ECMT permits at the ECMT Road Transport Group meeting of 4th/5th February, which includes 290 annual Euro 5 permits, 336 annual Euro 6 permits, 840 short term Euro 5 permits and 1152 short term euro 6 permits. This in an increase in ECMT permits of around 65%. We have been liaising with usual haulage stakeholders on the allocation of the additional permits.

Driving: Licensing

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether Irish driving licences be valid in the UK in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Chris Grayling: In all EU exit scenarios, the UK will continue to recognise EU driving licences for both visitors and residents as we do currently. We have published this information on gov.uk. This was confirmed in an SI which was passed in October 2018.

Driving: Licensing

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport, whether (a) UK driving licenses and (b) UK issued international driving licenses be valid in Ireland in the event that the UK leaves the EU without a deal.

Chris Grayling: The UK issues 1949 format International Driving Permits (IDPs) to allow UK licence holders to drive in Cyprus, Malta, Spain and Ireland when visiting these countries. However, like the UK, Ireland does not require an IDP to be held if the motorist has their domestic driving licence, meaning that UK licence holders visiting Ireland will not require an IDP. However, any residents in Ireland who passed their driving test in the UK and therefore hold a UK driving licence should exchange their driving licence to an Irish licence before exit day while the option still remains. If they do not exchange their licence before exit day, they will have to retake their driving test to exchange their licence.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Hartlepool Power Station: Closures

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the planned shutdown date is for Hartlepool nuclear power station; what the electricity generation capacity is of that power station; and what plans his Department has to replace that capacity.

Richard Harrington: Hartlepool nuclear power station has a generating capacity of 1185 megawatts. EDF’s estimated decommissioning date is 2024. This Government remains committed to delivering secure electricity supplies to consumers at the lowest possible cost. We demonstrated this commitment by giving the go-ahead to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C, as well as by launching our landmark £200m Nuclear Sector Deal last year.

Heysham 1 Power Station: Closures

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the planned shutdown date is for Heysham nuclear power station; what the electricity generation capacity is of that power station; and what plans his Department has to replace that capacity.

Richard Harrington: Heysham 1 has a generating capacity of 1155 megawatts. EDF’s estimated decommissioning date is 2024. Heysham 2 has a generating capacity of 1230 megawatts. EDF’s estimated decommissioning date is 2030. This Government remains committed to delivering secure electricity supplies to consumers at the lowest possible cost. We demonstrated this commitment by giving the go-ahead to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C, as well as by launching our landmark £200m Nuclear Sector Deal last year.

Hunterston B Power Station: Closures

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the planned shutdown date is for Hunterston (B) nuclear power station; what the electricity generation capacity is of that power station; and what plans his Department has to replace that capacity.

Richard Harrington: Hunterston B nuclear power station has a generating capacity of 965 megawatts. EDF’s estimated decommissioning date is 2024. This Government remains committed to delivering secure electricity supplies to consumers at the lowest possible cost. We demonstrated this commitment by giving the go-ahead to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C, as well as by launching our landmark £200m Nuclear Sector Deal last year.

Hinkley Point B Power Station: Closures

Alan Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, what the planned shutdown date is for Hinkley Point (B) nuclear power station; what the electricity generation capacity is of that power station; and what plans his Department has to replace that capacity.

Richard Harrington: Hinkley Point B nuclear power station has a generating capacity of 965 megawatts. EDF’s estimated decommissioning date is 2023. This Government remains committed to delivering secure electricity supplies to consumers at the lowest possible cost. We demonstrated this commitment by giving the go-ahead to the first new nuclear power station in a generation at Hinkley Point C, as well as by launching our landmark £200m Nuclear Sector Deal last year.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Brazil: Dams

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether it is his Department's policy to support the creation of an international independent body to oversee dams holding mining waste as a result of the collapse of the Corrego do Feijao and Samarco dams in Brazil.

Sir Alan Duncan: The dam collapse is now the subject of investigation by the Brazilian authorities. As the Prime Minister stated to the House on 30 January, we are in touch with the local authorities and stand ready to provide whatever support we can. The UK Government works internationally with governments and business to ensure the highest environmental, safety and labour standards.

Ukraine: Transport

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what discussions (a) he and (b) officials in his Department have had with counterparts in the EU to support improvements to the (a) road, (b) rail and (c) ports infrastructure in south eastern Ukraine.

Sir Alan Duncan: FCO Ministers have discussed support for south eastern Ukraine with EU counterparts on a number of occasions. I did so most recently at the EU Foreign Affairs Council on 18 February. My officials have also discussed the provision of such support with the European External Action Service and European Commission in Brussels, and with the EU Delegation in Kyiv. In January, the EU led a scoping visit to south eastern Ukraine, including the city of Mariupol, to assess what further actions might be required, including to improve infrastructure. As part of on-going donor coordination efforts, UK officials frequently discuss with other international donors and the Ukrainian government how best to support Ukraine's infrastructure needs.

Gaza: Israel

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has had discussions with his counterpart in Israel on the concerns raised by Physicians for Human Rights Israel that cancer patients in Gaza continue to have their permits for travel in order to receive treatment withheld by the Israeli Government; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: The movement restrictions and the serious constraints imposed by the occupation impact the health of the population as well as the further development of quality health services, especially in Gaza. We remain deeply concerned about restrictions on movement and access in Gaza, and the impact that this is having on the humanitarian situation. We have frequent discussions with the Government of Israel and Egypt about the need to ease restrictions on Gaza. We call on the Israeli Government to ease restrictions further and for Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Egypt to work together to ensure a durable solution for Gaza.​

Oman: Detainees

Ann Clwyd: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has made representations to his Omani counterpart on the arbitrary detention of the Shuhuh 6 and other human rights violations in that country.

Alistair Burt: The Foreign Secretary has not raised the case in question. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office encourages all States to uphold their international human rights obligations. Any allegations of human rights violations are concerning and must be thoroughly, promptly and transparently investigated.​

Department for Education

Classroom Assistants: South Yorkshire

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants have been employed in primary schools in South Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants have been employed in secondary schools in South Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants have been employed in primary schools in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many teaching assistants have been employed in secondary schools in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many specialist support staff have been employed in primary schools in South Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many specialist support staff have been employed in secondary schools in South Yorkshire in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many specialist support staff have been employed in primary schools in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 2010.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many specialist support staff have been employed in secondary schools in Yorkshire and the Humber in each year since 2010.

Nick Gibb: The attached table provides the full-time equivalent number (FTE) of teaching assistants and support staff in state funded nursery/primary and secondary schools in South Yorkshire, Yorkshire and Humberside and England in each November, 2011 to 2017.South Yorkshire includes Barnsley, Doncaster, Rotherham and Sheffield local authorities.Comparable information for 2010 is not held centrally.



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(PDF Document, 410.79 KB)

Pupils: Kent

Sir Michael Fallon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate he has made of the funding per pupil at (a) primary and ( b) secondary school in Kent in (i) 2018-19 and (ii) 2019-20.

Nick Gibb: The table below shows the per pupil funding allocated to Kent from the schools block of the Dedicated Schools Grant (DSG) in 2018-19 and 2019-20: Primary Secondary 2018-19£3,724£4,7812019-20£3,793£4,941 These figures do not include funding allocated through the growth, premises, or mobility factors of the national funding formula, which are not distributed on a per pupil basis but total £28.9 million in Kent in 2018-19, and £29.9 million in 2019-20. Schools also receive funding through several other sources, such as the high needs block of the DSG, from which Kent was allocated £200.8 million in 2018-19; and the Pupil Premium, through which schools in Kent received £57.7 million in 2018-19. To provide stability for schools, local authorities will continue to be responsible for designing the distribution of funding in their areas in 2018-19 through to 2020-21. Because of this, the actual per pupil amount that schools receive may be different from the amount they are attracting through the national funding formula.

Special Educational Needs: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, if his Department will increase capital funding to expand provision at special schools in Essex.

Nick Gibb: During 2018, the Department increased investment in the Special Provision Capital Fund by £150 million, taking the total investment from £215 million to £365 million across 2018-2021. This will support local authorities to create further school places and improve facilities for pupils with special educational needs and disabilities. The investment is not ring-fenced and therefore local authorities can use it as they see fit in their local area. Essex has been allocated £9.8 million from our £365 million investment, the fourth largest allocation in the country. More information on this fund can be found at:https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/send-provision-capital-funding-for-pupils-with-ehc-plans.The Department provides basic need funding which is based on local authorities’ own data on school capacity and pupil forecasts. Essex received £205.9 million to provide new school places from 2011-2018, and has been allocated a further £57 million from 2018-2021. This funding is also not ring-fenced, allowing local authorities greater flexibility to make decisions that are best for their local area. More information on this fund can be found at: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/basic-need-allocations.The Department is also investing in special provision in Essex via the free schools programme. There are currently 3 special free schools in pre-opening in Essex; The Hawthorns and Beckmead schools will be located in Chelmsford and Chatten special school which will be located in Witham. In addition, Essex County Council have also bid to establish a further special free school in the current alternative provision and special free school round. The successful local authority areas will be announced shortly.

Sex and Relationship Education

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, pursuant to the Answer of 30 January 2019 to Question 214530, whether the guidance for the new subjects of Relationships Education, Relationships and Sex Education and Health Education will refer to same-sex parents; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The new subjects of relationships education, relationships and sex education and health education are aimed at supporting all young people to be happy, healthy and safe and to equip them for adult life in modern Britain.The guidance is clear that all pupils will be taught to respect and value difference and that schools should ensure that their teaching is inclusive of the needs of all pupils, whatever their developing sexuality or identity. All schools must comply with the Equality Act.The guidance makes clear that teaching lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) content is expected in secondary schools.  Primary schools are encouraged and enabled to cover LGBT content if they consider it age appropriate to do so. This would be done through teaching about different types of family, including those with same sex parents.

Special Educational Needs: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment his Department has made of the change in the the number of pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) permanently excluded from school in Essex in the last three years; and what steps his Department is taking to reduce the number of pupils with SEND being permanently excluded.

Nick Gibb: The number of pupils with special educational needs (SEN) or disability permanently excluded from school is published by local authority within the local authority characteristics underlying data file at:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/permanent-and-fixed-period-exclusions-in-england-2016-to-2017.The Department’s statutory guidance on exclusions is clear that schools should take appropriate steps to address the underlying causes of poor behaviour, which could include pupils’ SEN or disability. This should include an assessment of whether appropriate provision is in place to support any SEN or disability that a pupil may have to avoid exclusion, and that schools should consider the use of a multi-agency assessment. The full guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/school-exclusion.In March 2018, the Government launched an externally led review of exclusions practice, led by Edward Timpson CBE. The review is exploring how head teachers use exclusion, and why pupils with particular characteristics such as those with special educational needs are more likely to be excluded from school. It is also considering the differences in exclusion rates across primary and secondary schools in England.​The review has gathered substantial evidence, including over 900 submissions to the call for evidence. Edward Timpson has also chaired a series of roundtables and the review has met with over 100 organisations and individuals, including schools, local authorities, parents and children. The review will report in due course.

Special Educational Needs: Essex

Priti Patel: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what estimate his Department has made of the number of pupils with Education, Health and Care Plans attending (a) special schools and (b) mainstream schools in Essex in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Nadhim Zahawi: The number of pupils with education, health and care plans attending special schools and mainstream schools in Essex is available in Table 14 of the local authority tables in the ‘Special Educational Needs in England: January 2018’ publication available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/special-educational-needs-in-england-january-2018.

Children: Disadvantaged

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, whether his Department provides funding to programmes that aim to support children from broken families.

Nadhim Zahawi: At Autumn Budget, my right hon. Friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer announced an extra £410 million to address pressures on social care services, along with £84 million over 5 years to support up to 20 local authorities to improve their social work practice and decision-making, enabling them to work more effectively with the most vulnerable children and their families.This builds on the £200 billion government has already made available to councils up to 2020 to provide services in the best interests of local residents, including those for children and young people.The government will continue to work closely with the sector to consider long-term children’s services funding as part of the Spending Review.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, with reference to the Local Government Association report entitled Have we reached a ‘tipping point’?: Trends in spending for children and young people with SEND in England, what estimate he has made of the level of the national deficit on high needs block funding by the end of (a) 2018-19, (b) 2019-20, and (c) 2020-21.

Nadhim Zahawi: ​We have listened to local authorities’ and schools’ concerns about the rising costs of special educational needs and disabilities provision and the pressure this causes on their budgets. That is why in December we announced an additional £250 million of funding for high needs over this financial year and the next. Overall funding for high needs will therefore rise to £6.3 billion in 2019-20. The department has done work to understand the drivers of these increasing costs including the shift in the proportion of children with high needs being educated in the specialist and independent sectors, rather than mainstream schools. To build on this work, we will be launching a call for evidence looking into the financial incentives in the system. We want to gather evidence on any perverse incentives in the system and on the use of resources mainstream schools have to spend on special educational needs to inform future policy development. Data reported to us by local authorities show an overall planned dedicated schools’ grant deficit of £96 million in 2018-19. We do not have comparable figures for years beyond this as data from local authorities have not been collected by the department yet. Funding for 2020-21 and beyond will be determined in the next Spending Review. ​The figures quoted in the Local Government Association report are based on the local authorities surveyed and may reflect varying in-year budgeting practises.

Special Educational Needs: Finance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what assessment he has made of the effect of trends in spending on children in need of SEND provision in England over the next two years; what steps he is taking in response to reports of SEND funding deficits by local authorities; and if he will make a statement.

Nadhim Zahawi: ​We have listened to local authorities’ and schools’ concerns about the rising costs of special educational needs provision and the pressure this causes on their budgets. That is why in December we announced an additional £250 million of funding for high needs over this financial year and the next. Overall funding for high needs will therefore rise to £6.3 billion in 2019-20.​The department has done work to understand the drivers of these increasing costs including the shift in the proportion of children with high needs being educated in the specialist and independent sectors, rather than mainstream schools. To build on this work, we will be launching a call for evidence looking into the financial incentives in the system. We want to gather evidence on any perverse incentives in the system and on the use of resources mainstream schools have to spend on special educational needs to inform future policy development.

Schools: Literacy

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many and what proportion of schools have run the Every Child a Reader (ECaR) programme in each year since that programme was introduced; what discussions he has had with head teachers about whether they have the resources they require to run the ECaR programme in (a) Brighton and Hove and (b) nationally; and if he will make a statement.

Nick Gibb: The Every Child a Reader programme was launched in 2005. The Department does not collect data on which programmes schools use to teach their pupils to read. Schools are expected to use evidence-based programmes that meet their pupils’ needs and ensure that they learn to read as early as possible.The Department is investing £26 million in a national network of English hubs to support schools to teach early reading, with a focus on synthetic phonics.Schools in Brighton and Hove will receive an increase in funding of 2.4% per pupil by 2019/20, or £2.9 million in total, compared to 2017/18. Nationally, there is more money going into the schools system than ever before, but the Department recognises the budgeting challenges schools face and that they are being asked to do more. That is why the Govenernment is supporting schools to make the most of every pound. Schools decide how to spend their budgets in a way that best supports their pupils, and discussions are regularly held with with headteachers about their funding.

Literacy: Teaching Methods

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what recent assessment his Department made of the effectiveness of teaching early literacy through Phonics.

Nick Gibb: There is a significant body of evidence that demonstrates that systematic phonics is a highly effective method for teaching early reading. According to the Education Endowment Foundation, phonics approaches are consistently effective in supporting younger readers to master the basics of reading, with an average impact of an additional four months’ progress. The Department is investing £26 million in a national network of English hubs to support local schools in developing their teaching practice, with a focus on systematic phonics.

Students: Fees and Charges

Will Quince: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what steps he is taking to ensure that universities do not charge tuition fees to students undertaking industry placements in the UK or abroad as part of their studies.

Chris Skidmore: Maximum tuition fees for students undertaking an Erasmus work placement year are 15% of the maximum applicable full-time fees and fee loans for Approved (Fee Cap) providers in 2019/20. Maximum tuition fees for students undertaking a work placement year of a sandwich course in the UK or a work placement year abroad that is not an Erasmus Year are 20% of the maximum applicable full-time fees and fee loans for Approved (Fee Cap) providers in 2019/20.

Academies: Special Educational Needs

Stephen Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, how many multi-academy trusts have a Special Educational Needs Coordinator with responsibility for more than one school in the chain in (a) Hampshire, (b) Portsmouth and (c) England.

Nadhim Zahawi: The information requested is not held centrally. All maintained nurseries and schools (including academies and free schools) are legally required to have a teacher who holds Qualified Teacher Status designated as the Special Educational Needs coordinator (SENCO). Some Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) also employ a director of inclusion to co-ordinate Special Educational Needs (SEND) provision across the MAT. This is a separate role to that of the school level SENCO, and each individual academy must still employ a SENCO who meets the criteria set out in law to ensure the needs of SEND pupils are met effectively.

Bradfield School Sheffield: Sixth Form Education

Jared O'Mara: To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what plans the Department have to replace the sixth form places lost as a result of the closure of Bradfield School Sixth Form in Sheffield Hallam.

Anne Milton: Local authorities are responsible for making sure that provision meets the needs of young people in their area.The statutory duty to secure sufficient suitable education and training provision for all young people in their area lies with local authorities. Therefore, it is for Sheffield City Council to decide if there is a gap in provision or if students are able to access sufficient suitable places at other providers. If the local authority is able to provide evidence of a gap in provision, it should contact the Education and Skills Funding Agency to discuss options for filling that gap. This could include commissioning additional places if necessary.

Ministry of Justice

Legal Aid Scheme

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times and on what dates the civil legal aid means test threshold has been evaluated since it was last reviewed and uprated.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many times and on what dates the criminal legal aid means test threshold has been evaluated since it was last reviewed and uprated.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, if he will make an estimate of the number of people that have been excluded from legal aid eligibility as a result of the civil legal aid means test threshold not being uprated in line with inflation since 2008.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the number of people that have been excluded from legal aid eligibility as a result of the criminal legal aid means test threshold not being uprated in line with inflation since 2009.

Lucy Frazer: The financial thresholds for civil and criminal legal aid were reviewed by MoJ Ministers in January 2010, March 2011 and March 2016. Separately, the means test thresholds were reviewed at official level within MoJ in January 2012 and between October 2013 and January 2014. Neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Legal Aid Agency currently hold data on the number of individuals excluded from legal aid eligibility since the means testing thresholds were last uprated in 2008-09. We think the time is now right to look at the means test and uprating in more detail. As part of the publication of the Legal Support Action Plan on 7 February, the Government has announced a review of the legal aid means testing thresholds and their interaction with the wider eligibility criteria. We are bringing together data and evidence from across government to ensure that the process is as thorough and consistent as possible. Following our consideration, we will bring forward any changes as soon as is practical.

Legal Aid Scheme

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many civil legal aid offers have not taken forward by the applicant following an assessment of the level of contribution that they will need to provide through the legal aid means test in each year for which information is available.

Gloria De Piero: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many grants of emergency legal aid have been revoked when contributions determined through the legal aid means test were not fulfilled in each year for which information is available.

Lucy Frazer: Holding answer received on 01 March 2019



Applicants for civil legal aid are assessed against the criteria set out in the Civil Legal Aid (Financial Resources and Payment for Services) Regulations 2013. Where an offer of legal aid is made subject to the payment of a contribution towards legal fees, this must be accepted in order to receive public funding. Legal aid is only revoked in such cases where an applicant chooses not to accept an offer of funding when they have already agreed to begin receiving legal aid on an emergency basis, and to make any necessary contribution based on their circumstances which arises in connection with Civil offers not taken forward:Financial YearNumber2000-20018,4222001-20027,1432002-20037,4132003-20046,7462004-20055,5952005-20064,1642006-20074,0512007-20084,0582008-20094,0722009-20104,1892010-20113,3182011-20121,8022012-20131,9402013-20141,1972014-20157082015-20168912016-20171,0762017-20181,184Certificates revoked for this reason:  Financial YearNumber 2000-2001789 2001-2002543 2002-2003603 2003-2004439 2004-2005229 2005-2006218 2006-2007211 2007-2008250 2008-2009281 2009-2010275 2010-2011264 2011-2012219 2012-2013207 2013-2014300 2014-2015322 2015-2016358 2016-2017572 2017-2018558

Prisons: Crimes of Violence and Self-harm

Steve McCabe: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, pursuant to the Answer of 14 February to Question 217444 on Prisons: Crimes of Violence and Self-harm, what assessment his Department made for the reasons for trends in the level of (a) deaths, (b) assaults and (c) self-harm in prisons.

Lucy Frazer: The causes of self-harm and violence in prisons are complex. They include imported factors, such as the characteristics of the population coming into prison; and custodial factors, such as the nature of the prison environment and regime. Among other factors, we know that the trade in illicit drugs is fuelling much of the violence in prisons. The drugs themselves also play a significant part in the number of deaths and the amount of self-harm. We are confident that the measures outlined in the Answer to Question 217444 will reduce the incidence of self-harm and violence. The growing population of older prisoners means that the number of deaths from natural causes is likely to continue to rise.

Ministry of Justice: ICT

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the planned completion date is for the common platform programme.

Lucy Frazer: Our aim is that by 2020, criminal justice partners and HMCTS will have co‐designed and co-delivered the common platform fully. As with all programmes, timelines are under continuous review.

Courts: Modernisation

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what steps he is taking to support employees who are due to lose their jobs as a result of the courts modernisation programme.

Lucy Frazer: HMCTS has recognised the impact that the Courts Reform Programme will have on its workforce over the next few years. To support this change, HMCTS is providing a new style of career transition support. This means that employees will get access to career transition support services earlier. It has invested in an end to end career transition support service for all employees to access. The comprehensive support package has been designed to support employees to make a proactive choice in their future via an online portal – My Future Matters. The portal is a central point for employees to access support and practical career tools such as workshops, one-to-one coaching, on-site support sessions, and a personal career coach to assist them to develop their own transition plan. We are also committed to providing continuing employment within HMCTS for all staff impacted by Courts Reform, including priority access to suitable alternative roles within the organisation, and appropriate opportunities within the Ministry of Justice and wider civil service departments.

Courts: Modernisation

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what estimate he has made of the reduction in staff as a result of the courts modernisation programme in (a) London, (b) Greater Manchester, (c) Bolton and (d) England.

Lucy Frazer: We do not hold expected staffing numbers for our end state in specific geographical locations. as there are often changes as the Reform programme develops. End state Service Centres are an example of this, where large numbers of our administrative staff will be based, but locations have not been finalised. We will assess the impact of reform as it is delivered on the number of courts we need, and will be carefully considering where changes to the estate are required to maximise the benefits of reform while making sure that effective access to justice is maintained.

HM Courts and Tribunals Service

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to paragraph 18 of the January 2019 HM Courts and Tribunals Service document entitled Putting people at the heart of reform: Response to PAC recommendation 2 which states that There will be clear proportionality – complex and serious cases will continue to be handled with the full majesty of the courtroom, what process he uses to make an assessment of proportionality when deciding which cases will take place in a courtroom.

Lucy Frazer: The joint statement made by the Lord Chancellor, Lord Chief Justice, and Senior President of Tribunals in 2016 set out the three core principles for the transformation of the courts and tribunals: just, proportionate, accessible. The independent judiciary will continue to determine how hearings are conducted, in accordance with relevant procedural rules and practice directions where applicable.

Styal Prison

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women whose home address is in North Wales served sentences of (a) less than six months and (b) six months or more at HMP Styal in each of the last five years.

David Hanson: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many women were on remand at HMP Styal from courts in North Wales in each of the last five years.

Lucy Frazer: The department is unable to identify the total number of women in each year as the information is not centrally held. Table 1 in the attached instead sets out the number of women with a home address in North Wales held at HMP Styal who were serving less than/more than 6 months at quarterly intervals over the last 5 years. Table 2 attached, shows the number of women remanded to HMP Styal by a court in North Wales since 2014. There is persuasive evidence that short custodial sentences do not work in terms of rehabilitation and that community sentences, in certain circumstances, are more effective in reducing reoffending, and therefore keeping the public safe. We will therefore be looking at what more we can do to emphasise that short custodial sentences should be viewed as a last resort. In June we published our female offender strategy which makes clear that we want fewer women serving short sentences in custody and more remaining in the community, making use of women’s centres to address needs such as substance misuse and mental health problems.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 13.64 KB)

HM Courts and Tribunals Service: Finance

Yasmin Qureshi: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, with reference to the HM Courts and Tribunals Service report, Evaluating our reforms: Response to PAC recommendation 4, published in January 2019, what areas of that service have achieved savings of £158 million.

Lucy Frazer: This government is investing over £1 billion to reform and modernise the justice system, providing easier and more efficient justice for all. As we increase the use of digital services, we reduce the number of staff needed to run the Courts and Tribunal systems, decommission old IT systems and exit court and tribunal buildings which are no longer needed. Savings of £158m have been achieved between the start of the programme in 2014-15 financial year and the date of the NAO report. Of this £76m arises from savings from closing court and tribunal buildings we no longer need, with every penny raised from selling these underused buildings reinvested back into the justice system; £68m has been saved from the costs of administering the courts system through achieving greater efficiency and the use of modern IT processes; £9m from more effective use of judge time; and £5m from decommissioning old IT systems.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many holdings in the High Risk Bovine TB control area were interferon-gamma tested in 2018.

David Rutley: I refer the hon. Member to the reply previously given on 5 February 2019 to PQs 213921 and 214457.

Bovine Tuberculosis: Disease Control

Dr David Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, how many of the holdings that were interferon-gamma tested in 2018 in the High Risk Bovine TB control area in England were tested on account of (a) being located in an areas that had completed two years of successful badger population control, (b) there being clear evidence that repeated skin testing has failed to resolve a TB breakdown and (c) the APHA veterinary investigation concluding that the most likely transmission route for the affected herd was contact with infected cattle and that measures are in place to prevent further spread of disease from that source.

David Rutley: The Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) record and report surveillance information for interferon gamma testing in the Bovine TB High Risk Area of England. The number of holdings that were interferon-gamma tested in 2018 in the Bovine TB High Risk Area in England are shown in the table below. The ‘other reasons’ row includes all other reasons for testing - for which the data cannot be separated - except serial tests which are only used in very specific cases when anomalous reactions such as interference with the test is suspected.   HoldingsSamplesNumber of holdings located in badger control area (a)14031,400Evidence that repeated skin testing failed to resolve a TB Breakdown (b)10244,572Other reasons, including but not exclusively APHA investigation concluding most likely transmission was contact with infected cattle (c)346,083

Pigmeat: Imports

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what steps he is taking to ensure that ractopamine-fed pork is not permitted in the UK under the terms of a future UK-US trade agreement.

David Rutley: The Government is proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce. The UK will maintain its high standards as part of any future free trade agreements. The UK has transposed EU Council Directive 96/22/EC (as amended) into national law; the ‘Animals and Animal Products (Examination for Residues and Maximum Residue Limits) (England and Scotland) Regulations 2015', with similar legislation for Wales and Northern Ireland, which prohibits the use of beta-agonists in both domestic production and imported products. This protection will continue after we leave the EU.

Pigmeat: Imports

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whether the UK will continue to test pork for the parasitic worm trichinae under the terms of a future UK-US trade agreement.

David Rutley: The Government is proud of the high food safety and animal welfare standards that underpin our high-quality Great British produce. The UK will maintain its high standards as part of any future free trade agreements. Regulation 2015/1375 lays down specific rules on official controls for Trichinella in meat, including the testing of pig carcases, and will be transposed into national law to ensure food safety protection is maintained. This protection will continue after we leave the EU.

Food: Labelling

Hugh Gaffney: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with EU representatives on labelling requirements for UK food companies in the event of the UK leaving the EU without a deal.

David Rutley: Negotiations with the EU are currently restricted to the withdrawal deal. The status of UK food products in the EU market will depend on the outcome of those negotiations. Following a consultation exercise with the food industry, discussions with the European Commission, and agreement with Defra, the final design for the new health and ID marks has been agreed. This will ensure the UK continues to have the ability to export products of animal origin to the EU. We are also aiming to be recognised by the EU as having equivalence to organic standards and establish reciprocal arrangements though at present there is no agreement on this. Leaving the EU with a deal remains the Government’s top priority. As a responsible Government would, we are accelerating no deal preparations to ensure the country is prepared for every eventuality. Businesses and citizens should ensure they are similarly prepared.

Beverage Containers: Recycling

Catherine West: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, whats steps he is taking to encourage local authorities to adopt deposit return schemes for recycling plastics.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: Local authorities will not adopt a DRS themselves, as this is not how the scheme is designed to operate. However, they are important stakeholders in a DRS due to the interaction of such a scheme with waste collection duties. Local authorities have been considered as part of the recently published consultation on introducing a DRS for drinks containers with regard to their interaction with the scheme.

Solid Fuels: Heating

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport on the potential effect on heritage railways of the proposals outlined in the consultation on the cleaner domestic burning of solid fuels and wood; and if he will make a statement.

Dr Thérèse Coffey: The proposals in the consultation on domestic burning would not prevent heritage railways purchasing the fuels they need, so there has been no need for the Secretary of State to discuss this with the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport.

Home Office

Forensic Science: Training

Emma Hardy: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether a bid for the provision of forensic training to the police may be refused due to a company also providing training to foreign nationals from countries either guilty of, accused of, or implicated in, serious human rights abuses; and whether any company has been refused on those grounds.

Mr Nick Hurd: It is a matter for each contracting Police Authority to determine their evaluation criteria for their procurement of outsourced services.

British Nationality: EU Nationals

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, if he will make it his policy to refund the fees paid by EU citizens who have chosen to apply for UK citizenship rather than for settled status.

Caroline Nokes: As the Prime Minister announced on 21 January, there will be no fee for applications under the EU Settlement Scheme when we roll out the scheme in full by 30 March. Anyone who has applied during the pilot phase, or who does so, will have their fee reimbursed. We have no plans to refund any fees paid for citizenship applications made by EU or non-EU citizens.

Immigration: Commonwealth

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many commonwealth soldiers in (a) Barnsley and (b) South Yorkshire have applied to bring one or more of their children to the UK in the last five years.

Stephanie Peacock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many commonwealth soldiers in (a) Barnsley and (b) South Yorkshire have had their applications to bring one or more of their children to the UK rejected in the last five years.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office does not collate or publish the information requested. The Home Office does not maintain information relating to the current location within the UK of Commonwealth citizens, including HM Armed Forces personnel.

Armed Conflict: Syria

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who have returned from conflict in Syria have had their citizenship removed.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people who have returned from the conflict in Syria (a) held dual-British citizenship and (b) were British nationals.

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many (a) British nationals and (a) dual-British nationals returning from the conflict in Syria have had their British citizenship revoked.

Mr Ben Wallace: The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status. Section 40(2) allows the Secretary of State to deprive any person of British citizenship, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so. Section 40(3) allows the Secretary of State to deprive a person who has obtained citizenship by naturalisation or registration, where the Secretary of State is satisfied that citizenship was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of material fact.Three reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017 and 2018, providing figures for section 40(2) deprivations since 2010, this is the deprivation power most likely to be applied to those returning from Syria. The links to these reports are below:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473603/51973_Cm_9151_Transparency_Accessible.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593668/58597_Cm_9420_Transparency_report_web.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disruptive-and-investigatory-powers-transparency-report-2018For reasons of national security, it would not be appropriate to provide a breakdown of the citizenship of those who have returned from the conflict in Syria.When seeking to deprive on the basis that to do so is conducive to the public good, the law requires that this action proceed only if the individual concerned would not be left stateless.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment he has made of the effect of the EU Settlement Scheme on cross-border workers that live in Ireland but work in Northern Ireland; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: Under the draft EU Withdrawal Agreement and equivalent agreements with the EFTA states, EEA and Swiss citizen frontier workers, including those who live in Ireland and work in Northern Ireland, will be able to continue to come to the UK on the same basis as now until the end of the implementation period. After that date, they can continue to come to the UK for work for as long as they continue to be frontier workers.In the event of no deal and once free movement is ended, although the underlying legal framework will change, EEA and Swiss citizens coming for short visits for work will be able to enter the UK without a visa and stay for up to three months from each entry. This is set out in the Home Office’s policy paper which was published on 28 January and can be found at www.gov.uk/government/publications/eu-immigration-after-free-movement-ends-if-theres-no-deal. Further information about frontier workers after 31 December 2020 will be published in due course.As part of the reciprocal Common Travel Area (CTA) rights between the UK and Ireland, Irish citizens have the right to move freely between the UK and Ireland, the right to reside, the right to study, the right to access social welfare and housing and the right to vote in certain elections. The CTA rights are maintained in all outcomes of EU Exit.

Immigration: EU Nationals

Lady Hermon: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, which (a) organisations and (b) other Departments his Department shares personal data with that has been captured during the settled status application process; and if he will make a statement.

Caroline Nokes: The Home Office takes its data protection and data security obligations very seriously. All our data activity must be compliant with data protection legislation.Within the EU Settlement Scheme, in addition to an identity check, applicants’ personal data is used in three main ways:• Criminality and security checks;• If a National Insurance number has been provided, real time checks with the Department for Work and Pensions and HM Revenue and Customs to consider evidence of residency in the UK (for example tax or benefit records); and• On a case by case basis, sharing information with other organisations to verify evidence you have provided within your application to protect against fraud and the use of counterfeit documents (for example verifying with a university that the university certificate you have provided is genuine).This data sharing is designed to help applicants evidence their status in a quick and straightforward way by using data already held by other Government departments.The Home Office may also process the information provided in other ways in order to fulfil its legal and official functions. This could include, for example:• If we find evidence a significant crime has been committed;• We discover an immigration offence (like a sham marriage) is being committed;• If, in the future, you apply for UK citizenship; or• To allow the Home Office to carry out its safeguarding duties.This is set out in more detail in the Borders, Immigration and Citizenship System privacy information notice: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/personal-information-use-in-borders-immigration-and-citizenship/borders-immigration-and-citizenship-privacy-information-

Immigration: EU Nationals

Tom Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to tackle the issue of the official name of Bulgarian citizens appearing in Cyrillic on their EU settled status applications as a result of the first line of their passport being written in the Cyrillic script.

Caroline Nokes: The EU Settlement Scheme is streamlined, user-friendly and will be accessible to all prospective applicants. To provide a simple user experience and to increase data accuracy, we use technology to read data direct from the passport Machine Readable Zone (MRZ) the text at the bottom of a passport and the passport chip.Neither the MRZ nor the chip in the document include special characters such as Cyrillic script. This is in line with International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) standard for passports that all EU passports adhere to. The ICAO standard provides translation matrices for each marking to the English alphabet, and it is intended that the digital status shown to individuals will follow the same format and display names in Latin script only. However, in some cases, we are aware that Cyrillic characters are appearing within the digital status name, and we are investigating why this is happening so that this can be rectified.The test phases have provided us with a useful opportunity to prove various elements of the scheme functionality and we continue to refine the handling of special characters, including how this could apply retrospectively to any applicants who may want their data to be corrected

British Nationality

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many UK citizens have had that citizenship deprived under section 40 of the British Nationality Act 1981 in each year since 2010.

Mr Ben Wallace: The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status. Section 40(2) allows the Secretary of State to deprive any person of British citizenship, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so. Section 40(3) allows the Secretary of State to deprive a person who has obtained citizenship by naturalisation or registration, where the Secretary of State is satisfied that citizenship was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of material factThree reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017 and 2018, which provide figures for section 40(2) deprivations, those where the Home Office has deemed that to deprive individuals of their citizenship is conducive to the public good. Figures for May 2010 to December 2014 are included in the 2015 report, figures for 2015 are in the 2017 report and the annual figures for 2016 and 2017 are listed in the 2018 report. The links to these reports are below:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473603/51973_Cm_9151_Transparency_Accessible.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593668/58597_Cm_9420_Transparency_report_web.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disruptive-and-investigatory-powers-transparency-report-2018Data relating to deprivation on fraud grounds under section 40 (3) is not currently published.

Shamima Begum

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what considerations satisfied him that depriving Shamima Begum of her British citizenship was conducive to the public good.

Mr Ben Wallace: We do not comment on individual cases.The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status. Section 40(2) allows the Secretary of State to deprive any person of British citizenship, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so.Conducive deprivation will be used in the context of National Security, espionage, acts of terrorism, unacceptable (extremist) behaviours, war crimes and serious and organised crime.As I explained to the House on Wednesday, I carefully consider such decisions personally on a case by case basis and where a decision has to be made, I will have to be confident it is not only conducive to the public good but is compliant with the law.I will look at the secret intelligence and all relevant material to determine the threat. Officials and partner agencies will put together a case, setting out all relevant information to satisfy me that the conducive test has been met.

British Nationality

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people resident in the UK are currently under consideration for the deprivation of their British citizenship under the British Nationality Act 1981.

Deidre Brock: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, with reference to the British Nationality Act 1981, how many cases of revoking British citizenship are under consideration by her Department.

Caroline Nokes: For reasons of national security, it would not be appropriate to provide a breakdown of the total number of cases, or the number of cases specifically concerning people resident in the UK, that are currently under consideration for deprivation of their British citizenship on the basis that such action is conducive to the public good under section 40(2).Where deprivation is on fraud grounds, we do not hold the data required to answer the question in the requested format.

British Nationality

Mr Roger Godsiff: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people have been deprived of British citizenship; how many of those people held dual-citizenship; and whether that dual citizenship was (a) current and (b) subject to a re-application since 2014.

Mr Ben Wallace: The British Nationality Act 1981 provides the Secretary of State with powers to deprive a person of citizenship status. Section 40(2) allows the Secretary of State to deprive any person of British citizenship, should they deem it conducive to the public good to do so.Three reports have been published to date in 2015, 2017 and 2018, which provide figures for section 40(2) deprivations, those where the Home Office has deemed that to deprive individuals of their citizenship is conducive to the public good. Figures for May 2010 to December 2014 are included in the 2015 report, figures for 2015 are in the 2017 report and the annual figures for 2016 and 2017 are listed in the 2018 report. The links to these reports are below:https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/473603/51973_Cm_9151_Transparency_Accessible.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/593668/58597_Cm_9420_Transparency_report_web.pdfhttps://www.gov.uk/government/publications/disruptive-and-investigatory-powers-transparency-report-2018In every decision taken under section 40(2), the Secretary of State was satisfied that the individual was a dual national at the point of deprivation and so was not left stateless, therefore no application was required.Data relating to deprivation on fraud grounds under section 40 (3) is not currently published. Section 40(3) allows the Secretary of State to deprive a person who has obtained citizenship by naturalisation or registration, where the Secretary of State is satisfied that citizenship was obtained by means of fraud, false representation or concealment of material fact. The bar on rendering a person stateless following deprivation, does not apply to decisions taken under section 40(3).

Counter-terrorism: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what discussions he has had with the Home Secretary on the effectiveness of the Government's Prevent programme in the Romford constituency.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Romford constituency falls within the remit of the London Borough of Havering. A Home Office led peer review team visited Havering in January 2019 and found that Havering was delivering a strong programme of Prevent delivery.

Radicalism: Romford

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what steps he is taking to protect children in the Romford constituency who are at risk of radicalisation.

Mr Ben Wallace: The Romford constituency falls within the remit of the London Borough of Havering. The Government made Prevent a statutory duty in July 2015. The Duty requires all local authorities, including Havering, to stop people becoming terrorists or supporting terrorism.A Home Office peer review of Havering’s delivery of the Prevent duty in January 2019 found that Havering had a strong approach to delivering the Prevent programme, which aims to prevent vulnerable individuals being drawn into terrorism. The Borough has a wide training and engagement programme for schools, colleges, childcare providers and children’s services. Those deemed most at risk of radicalisation are supported through Havering’s Channel Panel, with holistic needs addressed through the Multi-Agency Safeguarding Hub (MASH).

Immigration: Families

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, what assessment his Department has made of the potential for reducing bureaucracy for non-EEA residents seeking to bring family members to the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The family Immigration Rules prevent burdens on the taxpayer and promote integration. The Supreme Court agrees the family Immigration Rules strike a fair balance between the interests of those wishing to sponsor family to settle in the UK and of the community in general.We have taken a number changes to simplify the process, for example, we have created online application forms, improved customer guidance and no longer ask for original documentary evidence in most cases. However, we recognise that there is more that can be done to simplify the Rules even further and have asked the Law Commission to review how this might be achieved. This work is ongoing and we will carefully consider their findings in due course.

Immigration: EU Nationals

David Duguid: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department will assess ways in which aspects of the EU Settlement Scheme could inform aspects of the immigration system for non-EEA residents.

Caroline Nokes: As set out in the Government’s White Paper “The UK’s future skills-based immigration system” (Cm 9722) published on 19 December 2018, we will put the user at the heart of the design of our new single system, including legitimate travellers coming to visit, work or study here (and, of course, British and Irish citizens crossing the border), and the organisations that educate or employ them. In developing the new system and the technologies to support it, we will draw on lessons learnt during the delivery of the EU Settlement Scheme and consider whether they might be appropriate for use in the future system, for example the introduction of the ID verification app and the integrated use of data.

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports he has received from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration in (a) 2016, (b) 2017, (c) 2018 and (d) 2019.

Caroline Nokes: The Secretary of State has received the following number of inspection reports from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI): 18 reports in 2016, 18 reports in 2017, 13 reports in 2018 and 5 reports to date in 2019.

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many reports he has received from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration that have not yet been published.

Caroline Nokes: The Secretary of State has recently received 5 reports from the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration. The reports will be published within 8 weeks of receipt, wherever possible.

Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration

Keith Vaz: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, when he last met with the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders.

Caroline Nokes: The Secretary of State meets the Independent Chief Inspector of Borders and Immigration (ICIBI) on a regular basis, to discuss the annual inspection plan and throughout the year as required. It is not the Government's practice to provide specific details of all such meetings.

Passports: Fees and Charges

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether his Department has plans to remove the fee for changing the marital name on a passport.

Caroline Nokes: There are no current plans to remove the fee for the change to marital name on passports. This service incurs the same cost as all other standard renewal passports and undertakes the same levels of security checks so removing the fee would mean that cost burden would fall to other passport applicants.

Undocumented Migrants: Fines and Sentencing

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, whether it is the Government's policy to increase the level of (a) fines and (b) sentences for people transporting illegal immigrants to the UK.

Caroline Nokes: There are no plans to increase the penalty for the criminal offence of facilitating the unlawful entry of a person into the UK from the current maximum of 14 years’ imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

Home Office: Urdu

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many Urdu speakers are employed at the (a) British high commission in Islamabad and (b) Home Office to investigate the background of people applying for entry clearance.

Siobhain McDonagh: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, how many people are employed as Urdu translators at the (a) British high commission in Islamabad and (b) Home Office to investigate the background of people applying for entry clearance.

Caroline Nokes: UKVI human resources do not compile information on the number staff employed in the British High Commission in Islamabad, or at the Home Office, who assess entry clearance applications and who speak Urdu.In assessing applications for entry clearance, UKVI complies with the Home Office policy for the use of translators.

Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme

Steve Double: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department, pursuant to the Answer of 21 February 2019 to Question 220952 on Seasonal Agricultural Workers' Scheme, whether it will be possible for seasonal workers who have spent six months in any twelve month period working in the UK under the scheme and have left the UK to re-apply to the scheme and return to the UK.

Caroline Nokes: The Immigration Rules set no limit to the number of times a migrant worker can be granted leave under the Seasonal Workers Pilot, provided that grant of leave would not result in them spending more than six months in the UK during any rolling 12 month period.

Treasury

Productivity: North of England

Mr George Howarth: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, with reference to the Office for National Statistics publication, Labour productivity, UK: July to September 2018, published on 9 January 2019, what assessment he has made of the reasons for the lower and falling productivity defined by nominal GVA per unit of labour 2016-17 in the north of England.

Robert Jenrick: The ONS published the latest estimates of sub-national productivity on February 6th 2019. The data shows that productivity has increased in all the regions of the North of England during 2017 and since 2010. All regions of North of England have seen faster nominal productivity growth than London and the South East since 2010. The Government is investing in the North. As such, we are committed to publishing a refreshed Northern Powerhouse Strategy this year, building on the success of the existing strategy in bringing together local stakeholders to address key barriers to productivity in the region.

Red Diesel

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, when the Government plans to publish a response to its consultation on Non-road mobile machinery and red diesel, published on 15 July 2018.

Robert Jenrick: Following stakeholder submissions last summer, the government has continued to consider the impacts of red diesel use by non-road mobile machinery. The call for evidence has now concluded and the government will look to provide an update shortly.

Enterprise Management Incentives

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims were made for Income Tax relief under the Enterprise Management Scheme in 2018; what the average amount was of those claim; how many claims were made in each region; and what the average income was of the claimants.

Mel Stride: HMRC publishes annual statistics on Employee Share Schemes which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employee-share-schemes-statistics#national-statistics The latest data is for 2016-17 in which 7,000 employees exercised Enterprise Management Incentives options with an estimated cost of income tax relief of £190m. The estimated average income tax relief is therefore £27,000 per employee. Information on employees’ region and income is not readily available as it is not collected as part of Enterprise Management Incentives returns. This information could only be calculated with disproportionate cost.

Enterprise Management Incentives

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims were made for National Insurance tax relief under the Enterprise Management Scheme in 2018, what the average amount was of those claims; how many claims were made in each region; and what the average income was of the claimants.

Mel Stride: HMRC publishes annual statistics on Employee Share Schemes which are available here: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/employee-share-schemes-statistics#national-statistics The latest data is for 2016-17 in which 7,000 employees exercised Enterprise Management Incentives options with an estimated cost of relief of National Insurance Contributions of £90m. The estimated average relief on National Insurance Contributions is therefore £13,000 per employee. Information on employees’ region and income is not readily available as it is not collected as part of Enterprise Management Incentives returns. This information could only be calculated with disproportionate cost.

Investment Income: Tax Allowances

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims were made for Personal Dividend Allowance relief in 2018, what the average amount was of those claims; and what the average income was of the claimants.

Mel Stride: HMRC publishes the estimated cost of tax reliefs annually and these can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/main-tax-expenditures-and-structural-reliefs. The dividend allowance was introduced in April 2016, operates on a tax year basis, and was set at £2,000 in 2018-19. Individuals do not need to claim for the allowance, as the Dividend Allowance is available to everyone with dividend income. HMRC projects the dividend allowance to cost the Exchequer £695 million in 2018-19, with 5.09 million individuals benefitting. The median tax relief per beneficiary is projected to be £125 in 2018-19. The median income of those benefitting from the dividend allowance in 2018-19 is projected to be £35,000. These estimates are based on the 2015-16 Survey of Personal Incomes (SPI), projected to 2018-19 using economic assumptions consistent with the office for Budget Responsibility’s November 2018 Economic and Fiscal Outlook.

Enterprise Investment Scheme

Peter Dowd: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, how many claims were made under the Enterprise Investment Scheme in 2018, and what the average income was of the claimants.

Mel Stride: HMRC publishes annual reports on the number of investors claiming tax relief under the Enterprise Investment Scheme. Information for the tax year 2016-17 can be found in Table 8.5 here:https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/enterprise-investment-scheme-seed-enterprise-investment-scheme-and-social-investment-tax-relief-statistics-may-2018 Information for the tax year 2017-18 will be published in May 2019. Information for the tax year 2018-19 will not be available until 2020. Information about the average income of the claimants is only available at disproportionate cost.